I was in Bengaluru for the past couple of days. The trip was work related, in which the work got over ridiculously fast, leaving me in the company of friends-for-life , in a city which I adore. Past connections with this beautiful city are very, very nostalgic. My brilliant Ma, who is the first lady engineer of my home state Odisha, studied in the famed Indian Institute of Science there. Her attachment to the then Bangalore, translated into her wearing enormous amounts of kohl in the eyes and flowers in the hair like the earthy, dusky South Indian women and making absolutely sensational ‘bisibele bhaath’. I inherited the kohl and flower part. But I am horrible at making South Indian food, which prevented me for ever harboring romantic thoughts towards South Indian men, who I believe are fanatical about their ‘sambhar’, chutneys etc 🙂 So as much as I lusted after the hunky South superstar, Nagarjuna, my mooning was realistically poignant 🙂
The weather of this city is fantastic, which for me means great feeling skin and hair, without doing anything about it. Remember the Dove soap advertisements? The ones in which the women go all gaga about how their skin feels? Soft. Like being washed with raindrops. Thats’s what Bengaluru weather does to you. Oh by the way, I don’t like/use/support any Dove products because apparently they test on animals. How can one look beautiful by being cruel to those who are defenseless ? Beauty without cruelty is my motto. Please make it yours too, guys 🙂
Then, the filter coffee. Oh man, the perfect cuppa filter coffee sends this shooting pleasure thrills all over your body, mind and soul. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_filter_coffee) So, since I am a student of Political Science, I understand perfectly when Jeremy Bentham states in ‘An introduction the the principles of morals and legislation’, that ‘Man is a pleasure seeking animal’ 🙂 The coffee in my friend’s office belonged in that realm of pure, unadulterated pleasure. Back in my office, the already pathetic coffee now has assumed sinister dimensions of possibly being monkey pee 😦
Watched Salman Khan’s ‘Kick’ in the Orion Mall complex too. Now, I hate malls very profoundly.Hate shopping in them too, preferring the traditional shops any day with all their history, quirkiness and quaintness. However, even by Delhi standards I was impressed with the aesthetics of the entire complex which housed the mall. Open, minimalist and uber cool. The movie was a typically Salman Khan one with all the buffoonery, larger than life situations and total’paisa vasool’. The heroine, Jacqueline Fernandez, looks hot in retro style spectacles and has/had men lusting after her. Who says women in glasses can’t be hot ? 🙂
There was this ultra lounge bar ‘HIGH’ in the complex, which is the World Trade Center (http://http://www.highultralounge.com/www.highultralounge.com/ ) where we had dinner. This is situated on the 31st floor and has open terrace sitting. I was surprised to find that there was this chill wind blowing adding to the feeling of being out on the open sea at night. Friendly staff, great food the USP of the place, I felt was the view of the entire Bengaluru city, lighted up at night. Neon and surrealistic.
There is now an edginess to the city, which coupled with its erstwhile laid back charm translates into a smoking cauldron of simultaneously coherent as well as variegated identities. Tradition has gelled well with change. That was also true with my friends and our friendship for the last decade. A bond written on running water, that flows always, never stagnates.
Whenever in Bengaluru, I have to visit the Hard Rock Cafe.I would rate it as possibly one of the best in India. Much has to do with the crowd which is non-interfering and chilled out. Of course, the young DJ was sweet enough to play all my requests of classic rock numbers.I smiled when the pretty young girls in sexy little dresses posed for selfies in groups. No, they didn’t pay any attention to the growl of Jim Morrison. Maybe to the smart set, me dressed in torn, frayed jeans and a Che Tshirt , screaming my head off to ‘Roadhouse Blues’ was a tad surprising 🙂 I was almost tempted to give a lecture on the power of Rock n Roll.Its not music.Its a way of life. One gets high on it, even without the drugs and alcohol. It is a ‘nasha’ like no other. ‘Nasha’ hi ‘nasha’.
When the cafe closed down, I felt strangely bereft. The resonance of the music that had washed over me in waves of ecstasy stopped abruptly. Just like when your heart is broken by someone suddenly.But then hard rock teaches you how to deal with heartache and heartbreak. It reveals “the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again”.
The last song they played was this :http://yhttp://youtu.be/K6qNNtVNeYsoutu.be/K6qNNtVNeYs
Over & Out, guys 😀
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the accidental sufi 